Pills

At that moment, Danyangzi paid no attention at all to what Li Huowang was thinking. He was busy lecturing the disciples who had been scared out of their wits.

"From now on, if anyone harbors any crooked intentions, remember what you saw today!"

Danyangzi's words made everyone's hearts tighten at once, and the terror in their eyes deepened.

With his hands behind his back, he paced in measured steps before his disciples, his hawk-like gaze sweeping across every face.

"This Daoist master is telling you: helping someone become immortal is a great merit. If this Daoist master becomes immortal, I naturally won't forget your kindness. But if anyone ruins this Daoist master's good fortune! Heh heh!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly stopped in front of Li Huowang and sized up this boy, whose demeanor differed from that of the other disciples.

You're just a hallucination. You think I'm afraid of you? You're nothing but a thought in my head! With that thought, Li Huowang calmly met the gaze of the Pockmarked Head Master before him.

When Danyangzi raised his right hand, its fingernails packed with grime, the atmosphere in the Karst Cave grew heavy. Everyone else looked toward this senior brother who had dared offend their master, waiting to see how their master would deal with him.

Yet Danyangzi's expression suddenly eased. His raised right hand landed on Li Huowang's head and gave it a pat, and the oppressive atmosphere instantly vanished without a trace.

"Those traitors invited you to leave with them last night. Why did you refuse?"

Though the question seemed directed at Li Huowang, it was actually praise.

Just as Li Huowang was about to speak, Danyangzi raised his right hand.

"Don't give me any empty nonsense. Though you failed to report it to this Daoist master in time, compared to those vile disciples with wicked intentions, you've done quite well."

Lowering his hand, he continued, "I see that you have good talent. You no longer need to work in the Material Room. From now on, you are this Daoist master's Unregistered Disciple."

Li Huowang froze. His status had been elevated? But he immediately understood. So many people had died in this cave at once; this fellow must be short on helpers at his side.

"Oh, right. Since you have become this Daoist master's disciple and entered our sect, you cannot go without a Daoist name. From now on, your Daoist name shall be Xuan Yang."

Li Huowang glanced at the round hole in the corner. The miserable fate of the previous Xuan Yang flashed through his mind, and he thought, Hah. That name really is unlucky.

Though Li Huowang did not care much for this treatment, the others from the Material Room immediately lit up with envy. Becoming Danyangzi's Unregistered Disciple meant they would not have to die.

But in Danyangzi's eyes, that was not enough. After the stick came the dates; he had to hand out a few more to keep them hooked. "Xuan Yang, since you have just entered our sect, this Daoist master should give you a little something."

Hearing himself being called, Li Huowang hurried to Danyangzi's side. From his tone, it seemed he was about to give him something.

Danyangzi poured five black pills from the Gourd at his waist and placed them in Li Huowang's palm.

"Hold them well. These five are Immortal Pills refined by this Daoist master. Taking them will not only add ten years to your lifespan, but also temporarily grant you Great Strength Divine Power to protect yourself."

Li Huowang frowned slightly as he held the pills before his eyes. These things weren't refined from people too, were they?

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Li Huowang suddenly saw one of the pills in his hand roll slightly, changing from round to oval, as though something inside wanted to burrow out.

But when he looked closely again, he found that the pill had not changed in the slightest.

"Damn it, am I losing my mind? Why do I care about things in a hallucination? It's all fake. I absolutely can't get sucked back in."

Li Huowang slapped his head in frustration.

Danyangzi ignored Li Huowang's odd behavior and turned to the rest. "Do you see? Opposing this Daoist master is a road straight to death. But anyone who helps this Daoist master will be rewarded—and richly rewarded!!"

Everyone's eyes darted evasively between Danyangzi and the pills. Each person was thinking something, but what exactly they thought, only they themselves knew.

Seeing that he had achieved his purpose, Danyangzi waved his filthy long sleeve and dismissed everyone to continue working.

Li Huowang no longer needed to go to the Material Room. His Daoist name was Xuan Yang, so everything the previous Xuan Yang had possessed now belonged to him: status, Daoist Robe, and even that small private Karst Cave.

But right now, he did not care about anything happening in that hallucination. What concerned him more was what he had gained.

With his arms folded, he looked at the two items on the white hospital bed sheet: the Jade Pendant and the pills.

"My god, they really came out with me."

But Li Huowang was in a difficult position now. An old problem lay before him once more, forcing him to face it.

"If I bring these pills out and they really work after I eat them, then is that place really a hallucination? What exactly is happening to me?"

He had previously followed the doctor's orders with utmost seriousness, firmly treating everything on that side as a hallucination. But these things had indisputably appeared before Li Huowang, and his heart began to waver.

If this really was a hallucination, then why had these things become physical objects? What harm would they cause to him?

If that side was another world, then...

The insane senior sister refined into a pill by her master, Xuan Yang swallowed by the Black Cauldron, all manner of horrifying scenes flashed ceaselessly through his mind, making his breathing quicken.

"Ah!! This is so damn irritating! There isn't even anyone I can talk it over with." Irritated, Li Huowang reached up and clawed at his head with both hands.

After venting for a while, Li Huowang still had to face reality. After thinking for a long time, he finally settled on how he would deal with it.

On the hallucination side, whether it was real or fake, he would continue as before and cooperate as much as possible, treating it entirely as real.

If it happened to be real, then he could keep himself safe and alive.

If it was fake, then he would not suffer any loss.

For now, he would first verify the authenticity and value of these things that had been brought over, then make further plans.

Having decided on his response, Li Huowang took a deep breath and pinched one pill between his index finger and thumb, holding it before his eyes.

"No. It's too dangerous to eat it myself." His gaze shifted to the patients sunning themselves in the garden outside.

After only a second of struggle, he dejectedly lowered it. They were pitiful people just like him. How could he make them test the medicine? Later, when he had time, he would find a way to get a White Mouse.

Li Huowang then turned his gaze to the round Jade Pendant. Compared with the pills, this was much easier to deal with.

"Tell me what this is about. I climbed over the wall to get out here, so if this is a prank, heh heh!" Yang Na clenched her fair little fist and threatened Li Huowang.

"Girl, your brother only asked you here because he had no other choice. You know I can't get out at all."

As Li Huowang spoke, he walked to the ward door, shut it, and drew the curtains.